Laura Shaughnessy is the former managing editor at Dockwalk.
In yachting, there are so many things that can go wrong if you don’t have the right expertise on board or nearby. That’s why Navho decided to bring their new augmented reality (AR), Optip Holoassistance, to the market to help improve yacht management.
“The name Optip is inspired by the combination of optic and tip,” says Angelo Gigante, co-founder of Navho. “In fact, thanks to tips that reach the eyes, two people from afar will be in the same place sharing hands, views, experiences, skills, knowledge, help,” and so on.
In its simplicity, Optip is a tool that, through the use of AR and hololens (the pair of mixed reality smartglasses developed and manufactured by Microsoft), materializes objects by contextualizing them in real time. This projection system recognizes and maps its surroundings and produces a hologram. Among its many applications are remote training for crew, remote technical assistance, and the ability to create virtual prototypes and simulate their operation.
“It often happens that the presence of someone in some place around the world, either during navigation or on the quay, is needed in some other place because he or she has the skills, the knowledge to assist someone, to help someone, or simply to observe the place and provide some advice,” says Gigante. “It can be really hard today due to limited travel and limited contacts. Nowadays, all the information can be transferred in a fraction of a second.”
Optip is a tool that, through the use of AR and hololens (the pair of mixed reality smartglasses developed and manufactured by Microsoft), materializes objects by contextualizing them in real time.
Optip is a shared service between shipyards, shipowners, manufacturers, architects, crew, chief engineers, and more. With the same platform, it is possible for countless scenarios:
- During refit, crew can connect with various suppliers to ask for the best options and remotely show them the superyacht details they are asking advice for.
- The owner can connect to the shipyard and check the work progress.
- The owner can connect to the architects in order to suggest new changes during construction.
- The captain can follow the construction step by step.
- Owners can virtually study the renderings with the designers and the owner thanks to the library of projects available on the Optip platform.
- Learn and implement new changes on board.
- Navigation support for technical problems that require immediate intervention by the shipyard or the machinery manufacturer.
- Owners can virtually study the renderings with the designers and the owner thanks to the library of projects available on the Optip platform.
When it comes to superyacht crew, Optip Holoassistance enriches the real-world yacht environment of smart chief engineering with digital information and media using mixed-reality visors. It digitally replicates a design, assembly, or manufacturing environment and allows the smart operator to interact with any device (e.g. blueprint, hand tool, product, machine tool, engine), with reduced risk and real-time feedback. “Superyachts are a concentrate of technology and complexity, which is highly personalized and almost impossible to get to know in depth,” says Gigante. Optip Holoassistance helps everyone contribute to solving problems (from the yard that assembled and designed the boat to the manufacturers of engines or other components, up to the captain, etc.) by providing his/her own skills remotely.
“The name Optip is inspired by the combination of optic and tip,” says Angelo Gigante, co-founder of Navho. “In fact, thanks to tips that reach the eyes, two people from afar will be in the same place sharing hands, views, experiences, skills, knowledge, help.”
“Optip Holoassistance is a very useful remote monitoring and assistance service platform for people who need to reduce the number of unnecessary contacts while maintaining remote support thanks to holopresence,” says Gigante. “The target of Optip is to enhance the way people connect and the way they exchange information thus allowing the establishment of a ‘holoconnection’ between two ends — one requiring support and the other giving support.”
Navho is a collaboration between Activa and Optip — two companies with 30 years of experience in the medical sector. Gigante and his fellow co-founder, Francesco Castellana, share a passion for boats and the sea, which is why they wanted to expand the application of hololens to the nautical sector. Activa and Optip have already carried out important projects for clients like Cantiere delle Marche, General Electric, Telecom, and Abbott.
“Optip has turned out to be the best response to COVID-19,” says Gigante. “The ability to interact remotely has helped to overcome the pandemic by being able to move while comfortably staying at home.”
This article is taken from the May 2021 issue of Dockwalk.